DoT Issues Strict National Security Guidelines for Satellite Internet Providers in India

Key facts

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications has issued comprehensive security requirements for all Unified Licensees providing Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) services in India, applicable to all operators including but not specific to Starlink.
• Critical network infrastructure — Network Control and Monitoring Centres (NCMC), satellite gateways, Points of Presence (PoPs) and user data routing controls — must be physically located within India.
• Operators must integrate their Lawful Interception Systems (LIS/LIM) with the Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) and Integrated Monitoring System (IMS), and demonstrate interception capabilities before starting commercial services.
• User terminals cannot access the network outside designated geo-fenced boundaries; Indian-registered terminals are barred from foreign gateways, all user traffic must pass through Indian gateways, and direct terminal-to-terminal satellite communication bypassing domestic gateways is prohibited.
• Providers must maintain Call Detail Records (CDRs) and Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDRs) capturing latitude and longitude, device identifiers, IMEI numbers, MSISDNs, and public and private IP addresses, keeping such records within India.
• For terminals in motion, location changes must be reported after every 2.6 km of movement or every minute, and location-spoofing hardware or software is prohibited.
• Licensees must submit a phased, year-wise manufacturing programme to achieve at least 20 percent indigenisation of ground-segment equipment within five years of launching commercial operations.